Labour launches new battle to slam the door on ‘bedroom tax’

Launching Labour’s campaign against the housing benefit reform, due to be introduced in April, Mr Byrne visited Alex and Susan Pattison at their two-bedroom council property to hear how it affects them.

The ‘tax’ – a cut in housing benefit for anyone who is deemed to have a spare room – is designed to save money while encouraging people in oversized socially-supported housing to find smaller homes.

Because of Mr Pattison’s myriad health problems – he suffered a stroke 15 years ago and has a range of other conditions including epilepsy, osteoporosis, arthritis and Addison’s disease – his wife has slept in the spare bedroom for the past 11 years.

The couple have also part-funded the many adaptations to their home in Exton Close, including a stair-lift, bed-lift, and bath-lift, but could be forced to leave it all behind as their housing benefit is cut by about £13 a week.

“It’s not that I can’t pay it,” said Mrs Pattison. “You pay for the roof over your head then you’ve got to pay your fuel, then bottom line, food. Alex can’t eat anything with wheat in it so my food budget for one person is double.

“How long before I start sinking? Are they going to kick me out, are they going to put me somewhere with outside space, because I value the outside space?”

She added: “I just want someone to tell me I can live here and I don’t have to go. I want to decorate the living room but now this isn’t my living room, it isn’t my home.”

Mr Byrne said: “It’s a heart-wrenching story. To the Government, Alex and Susan’s room might be ‘spare’, but to them they have lived in their home for years, put a lot of their own money into the home, know the neighbours well; they are part of the community, and they have been told they are going to be ripped from this community and ripped neighbour from neighbour.

“What is topping it, we tabled amendments last year saying no-one should be forced from their home unless they’ve been offered somewhere suitable around the corner.

“I think this policy will cost more than it’s going to save and it’s based on a lie. Hull illustrates vividly what a lie it is. It affects 4,700 people and there are only 72 places to move to. It’s about hitting working people at a time when millionaires in our country are being given a tax cut.”

He added: “It affects 400,000 disabled people (nationally), foster carers and families of Armed Forces personnel, and yet if you’ve been to prison and get out in under 13 weeks you are exempt. How can it be right that a parent whose child is serving in the Armed Forces gets hit and a parent of a person who was in prison doesn’t get hit?

“That’s simply not fair. We are launching this campaign to try to force the Government to drop this idea and we are arguing hard that this is a policy that is patently unfair.”

The Government says the reforms will lead to “better use of housing stock”.

A spokesman for the Department for Work and Pensions added: “Councils have been given an extra £155m this year so that they can help their vulnerable tenants, with £30m specifically targeted towards supporting disabled people who have modified their homes and foster carers.

“We need to ensure a better use of social housing when over a quarter of a million tenants are living in overcrowded homes and two million are on housing waiting lists.”

Hull Council said: “In these specific circumstances, we would recommend that Mr and Mrs Pattison make an application for a Discretionary Housing Payment to meet the shortfall in the rent.”